Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) Ltd. has set forth that it is acquiring the 31.5% in Gangavaram Port Ltd (GPL), near Visakhapatnam located in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh next to Vizag Port and are currently held by private equity investor Warburg Pincus. Adani Ports is India’s largest private port operator.
The acquisition is valued at 1,954 crore.
GPL is the second-largest non-major port in Andhra Pradesh with a 64 million tonne per annum GPL is an all-weather, deep water, multi-purpose port capable of handling fully laden super cape size vessels of upto 200,000 deadweight tonnage. GPL handles a diverse mix of dry and bulk commodities including coal, iron ore, fertilizer, limestone, bauxite, sugar, alumina, and steel and also serves as the gateway port for a hinterland spread over 8 states across eastern, western, southern and central India.
Currently, GPL operates nine berths and has free hold land of about1,800 acres. It works according to a master plan capacity for 250 mtpa with 31 berths, holding sufficient headroom to support
future growth capacity that is held under a concession from the Government of Andhra Pradesh that extends till 2059.
In FY20, GPL had a cargo volume of 34.5 million tonnes, generated revenue of 1,082 crore, operating revenue of 634 crore (margin of 59%) and net profit of 516 crore. GPL is debt-free with cash balance of over 500 crore.
In FY20, GPL had a cargo volume of 34.5 million tonnes, generated revenue of 1,082 crore, operating revenue of 634 crore (margin of 59%) and net profit of 516 crore. GPL is debt-free with cash balance of over 500 crore.
The company also paid up equity share capital of 51.7 crore shares of which 58.1% is owned by DVS Raju and Family, 10.4% by Government of Andhra Pradesh and 31.5% by Warburg Pincus.
APSEZ is acquiring the Warburg Pincus stake of roughly16.3 crore shares (31.5%).
Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of APSEZ said, “The acquisition of GPL is a part of our continued strategy to build out a port and logistics network that is unmatched in its ability to serve customers across the nation. The location of GPL in the north of Andhra Pradesh is a strategic addition to our recent acquisition of the Port of Krishnapatnam that serves the south of Andhra Pradesh. We believe that GPL holds great potential to complement its bulk cargo terminals with new cargo categories that we want to develop. The port provides us great access to an adjacent hinterland that was largely untapped by APSEZ thereby placing us in a position to serve a broader set of port customers as well as expand our overall hinterland logistics footprint for a much larger base of customers."
Also, “From a green field project at the time of investment, Gangavaram Port has developed into a world class port," Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director / Head of Warburg Pincus India, said in the press release.
